A split occurred in the Noron party in the year 1771. The two factions were called respectively the Si and the Pyŭk. The former held that the father of the Crown Prince was an innocent man and had been unjustly punished, while the latter held the reverse. It is evident that those who claimed he was innocent were making a bid for favor with the prospective king. At the time of which we write the great sewer of the city had a line of ancient willows extending the whole length. This was found to be a disadvantage and they were hewn down and the sewer was walled in as we see it today. Two more factions arose about this time. They were called the Nak and the Ho. Their differences were caused by conflicting theories as to the interpretation of the Confucian classics. The greatest act of this king, and the one that casts the greatest luster on his memory, was reserved for the twilight of his reign. What led to it we are not told, but in the eighty-ninth year of his life, by a single stroke of the brush, he emancipated all the serfs in Korea. Up to this time all the common people had been serfs of the _yang-bans_ or noble class. In every district and in every ward each man of the common people owed allegiance to some local gentleman. It took the form usually of a tax or tribute in kind and was very loose in its application; but on occasion the master could call upon all these people for service and he could even sell them if he so desired. This is the reason why it is exceedingly rare that a family removes permanently from any locality, at least nominally. A man may go from place to place, or may live permanently at the capital, but when asked where he lives he will invariably name the exact spot where he originated and where the seat of his family is still supposed to be. When the common people were serfs they could not move at will, and the custom became so ingrained in them that to this day its effects are plainly seen. This aged king put forth his hand and decreed that this serfdom should cease once for all. It was different from slavery. That institution still continued and has continued to the present day. This serfdom included all the people who did not belong to the so-called _yang-ban_ class. It is quite plain that the line of demarcation between the common people and the nobility was very much more clearly defined than at the present day. We find no indication that the order was resisted in any part of the country. It is probable that the serfdom had gradually become largely nominal and the people only gradually came to realize what the edict realty meant. Even to this day the spirit of serfdom is a marked characteristic of the people. His ninetieth year beheld the complete mental and physical collapse of the king. He could not attend to the ancestral sacrifices; his mind continually wandered from the subject in hand. He would order a meeting of his councillors and then forget that he had ordered it, or forget what he had ordered it for.